Residents will continue paying $4 a month for the city to empty their curbside rollout cart once a week. But for every three extra “items,” or bags of trash, placed beside a cart that’s already full, the perpetrator will be hit with a charge of $15 to $25 per pickup.

It’s the latest evidence of Gastonia overhauling its solid waste collection system. The city’s aim is to reduce costs of taking trash to the landfill, by encouraging recycling and compelling residents to “pay as you throw.”

For those who have grown comfortable with the leeway of tossing away whatever they like, when they like, the new restrictions stink.

“I recycle,” said Gastonia resident James Mosley, in a discussion about the topic on The Gazette’s Facebook page. “But with two kids, (garbage) overflow happens. I believe we all pay plenty enough to this city for one of those guys to jump off (a garbage truck) and grab a bag or two.”

But city leaders say wasteful habits have been tolerated and even promoted here far too long.

“We’re trying to minimize costs and be more efficient,” said Assistant City Manager Flip Bombardier. “Our goal is to cut down on the manual costs of picking up the spillover.”

Phasing it in

Gastonia’s efforts to implement a pay-as-you-throw garbage system have prompted plenty of consternation in the last few years. The previous City Council’s strategy became a major election issue prior to a shakeup of city leaders in November 2011.

For years, property taxes paid for residential garbage collection. But as the curbside service evolved and became more costly, the city says tax dollars stopped footing the bill. Gastonia is among the cities across the country that began to reason that trash disposal should be treated as a measurable utility like water or power.

A year ago, Gastonia distributed larger, rollout recycle carts to every curbside customer, to begin encouraging conservation. And in July, the city began charging residents $4 a month for curbside garbage collection. The fee appears on monthly utility bills for customers who open those accounts with the city.

The savings seen since July 1 have already allowed Gastonia to cut five positions in the solid waste department – through attrition, not layoffs, Bombardier said.

The next portion of the phased-in approach took effect this month, with new charges for excess trash collection.

Cash for trash

Excess trash feeds will range from $15 per pickup for up to three items with a combined weight of less than 100 pounds, to $25 per pickup for up to three items weighing more than 100 pounds.

In keeping with previous policies, appliances will be removed for $25 each. Tire removal will cost $5 for those without a rim, and $8 for those with a rim.

Photos of any excess garbage will be taken to document the location from where it was picked up, said Electric Utilities Director Paul Jakubczak. Charges will appear on monthly utility bills.

Customers can take excess trash to a county disposal site for free. And they have the option of renting a second, rollout garbage cart from the city. But they’ll have to pay a one-time fee of $50, as well as an extra $4 per month, for it to be emptied.

The city will pick up curbside trash out of the container for free one week in May and September, to allow for spring cleaning. That will also be considered during the holidays at the end of the year, Jakubczak said.

“But what people don’t realize is a lot of the stuff you end up throwing away after Christmas is recyclable,” he said.

The city has been stuffing utility bills with notices about the most recent changes, even sending out coupons for “one free spillover pickup.” Education is the biggest key, and that will continue through the distribution of flyers and door hangers with explanations about the purpose of the changes, Bombardier said.

“We’re going to have to work with our customers and push the positive, by trying to impart to them the monies we can save from this,” he said.

Bombardier said the city will treat the next few weeks as a transition period. But by the end of January, residents who put out excess garbage can expect to be charged.

“We’re going to try to work on a case-by-case basis,” he said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.

What are your options for excess trash disposal in Gastonia?

- Pay extra for anything not placed in the curbside garbage cart. It will cost $15 per pickup for up to three items with a combined weight of less than 100 pounds, or $25 for up to three items over 100 pounds